


“Can I touch you?”

by AutisticWriter



Series: Super Sappy Line Prompts [8]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Ishimaru Kiyotaka, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Owada Mondo, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Meltdown, Nonverbal Communication, One Shot, Prompt Fic, post chapter 2, shutdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15795435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Yasuhiro, Makoto and Kyouko try to help Kiyotaka as he struggles with grief after the loss of his best friend.[Prompt 8: “Can I touch you?”]





	“Can I touch you?”

Kiyotaka is an odd guy, but he’s been even weirder today. Although, that’s kind of to be expected considering what happened yesterday; Hiro has to say he thinks he’d probably be wandering around in a daze and not saying a word if he’d just lost his best friend (or partner, because Kiyotaka and Mondo were totally a thing). Still, it’s starting to become a worry.

And he isn’t the only one who thinks this.

“He literally hasn’t said a word since the execution,” Makoto says in the dining hall, when he, Hiro and Kyouko are the only ones here yet. “And considering how… uh, noisy he usually is, I really think something is wrong.”

“So do I,” Kyouko says. “Even though catatonia has been known to occur in people who are grieving, it’s still a concern. I think we need to keep a closer eye on him.”

“But how can we help?” Hiro says. “I mean, we all saw it. His best friend turned out to be the killer and we had to see, see him die, and Kiyotaka had a total breakdown. It’s horrible but I honestly don’t think we can help.”

Makoto sighs. “Good point. I mean, it’s not like we can change what happened.”

“No, but we can be there for him so he doesn’t have to suffer alone,” Kyouko says. “Now, we just need to locate him.”

But as the other students start to file into the room, Kiyotaka isn’t one of them. Hiro frowns, watching the same expressions appear on Kyouko and Makoto’s faces. And then the three of them take off out of the room, running back towards the dorms.

Hiro can’t get a certain thought out of his mind, and he has to blurt it out. “Could, could he have killed himself?”

He’s probably being overdramatic, but… people have been known to do extreme things when they’re grieving.

And he expects Kyouko to tell him he’s talking utter shit, but…

“I hope not,” is all she actually says.

Soon, Makoto is ringing the doorbell outside Kiyotaka’s bedroom, the three of them willing him not to be dead.

But thankfully thankfully thankfully, the door slides open a crack. Hiro catches a glimpse of one of his eyes through the gap; it’s even redder than yesterday.

“Can we talk to you, Kiyotaka?” Makoto asks. “We know how bad you’re feeling and we want to help.”

Kiyotaka just stares at them, his eyes vacant and his expression blank. Just like every time since…

But as he stares, his face slowly changes, registering what they said. Now… now he just looks sad.

“Uh… I…” Taka’s voice is monotonous and weak, and he still sounds like he’s kind of not there. That appears to be all he can say, because he trails off and doesn’t say another word.

“You can talk to us, dude,” Hiro says, wondering why this is so difficult.

“Yeah, you don’t have to grieve on your own,” Makoto says.

Kiyotaka stares. But he opens the door wide enough for them to enter and stumbles towards his bed. Hiro and the others take this as an invitation and follow, entering Taka’s bedroom. Kyouko shuts the door and they approach Taka, who sinks onto his bed, staring into space.

“Is there anything you want?” Kyouko says. “I’ve noticed you haven’t been eating.”

Kiyotaka shrugs his shoulders.

“You know, you really can talk to us,” Hiro says, but Makoto shakes his head.

“What if… Taka can’t talk?”

“Huh?”

“I see what you mean,” Kyouko says. “People have been known to go nonverbal under stress.”

Hiro wonders if Taka might nod, but he doesn’t. Instead, he reaches for his notepad and scribbles something.

 **Please leave me alone** , the message says. **You’re right. I can’t talk. It’s a shutdown. Please, I want to be alone.**

A shutdown? Hiro’s never heard of that before.

“Well if that’s what you wish, we shall leave,” Kyouko says, giving Hiro and Makoto a pointed stare.

And even though he wants to help the poor bastard, Hiro does as he wants and trails out of the room.

\---

The students have free time today, but Hiro doesn’t see Taka once. He probably hasn’t left his room. And Hiro isn’t the only student worried about him. The chat with Taka comes up with the remaining students at Hope’s Peak, and almost everyone is getting concerned about him. More than one person has brought up the possibility of Kiyotaka trying to… kill himself.

So it isn’t too surprising when Hiro heads to Taka’s room that he finds Kyouko and Makoto outside the door as well. They’re talking, but even from a distance when he can’t hear them, he knows they’re worried.

“What’s wrong, guys?” he says, jogging over to them.

Makoto turns around. “The… the door’s unlocked. Taka never forgets to lock his door.”

“Oh shit,” Hiro mumbles, his eyes widening. “Are you gonna go in?”

Kyouko nods once, grasping the doorknob. “I am.”

And even the calmest of them all is hesitant when she opens the door and walks into Kiyotaka’s bedroom. Their friend isn’t immediately obvious, until Hiro notices a pile of blankets on the floor – and realises that the blankets are actually covering Taka.

He’s curled up on the floor, wrapped in blankets, and rocks his body ever so slightly. His face sticks out from the blanket nest, and Hiro grimaces when he sees his puffy eyes and the red blotches all over his face. Yeah, he’s alive… but what the hell has happened?

“Kiyotaka?” Kyouko says, stepping towards him.

Taka screws his eyes up. “Go away.”

“Has someone hurt you, Taka?” Makoto asks.

“No… meltdown…” Taka mumbles.

“I see,” Kyouko says. “Are you feeling better now?”

“A bit.”

“Good. Can I touch you?”

“Huh?” Hiro says.

“I want to check your injuries,” Kyouko explains. “You clearly inflicted blows to your head and I want to check you aren’t developing brain injuries.”

Makoto’s eyes widen, although Hiro can’t tell exactly what about that worried him. for Hiro, it’s definitely the fact that Taka beat himself up this badly.

Taka sniffs. “O-Okay.”

And Hiro and Makoto watch Kyouko kneel down next to Kiyotaka and study him. She stares at his eyes, checking for differences in pupil sizes or something like that. She instructs Makoto to dampen some tissues in the bathroom, and then presses the wet paper towels to Taka’s bruised face.

And to the surprise of everyone in the room, Kyouko’s hand lingers, her gloved fingers brushing sweaty hair from Taka’s forehead, and she says, “I understand what you are going through, Kiyotaka. Truly, you don’t have to deal with your grief alone.”

Seeing this kind of makes Hiro want to cry. Instead, he smiles and says, “Yeah, it’ll be okay, dude.”

But he knows nothing is okay in this awful school. But… but if they’re prepared to look after each other like this, helping their fellow students through the tough times that are sure to come, then maybe…

They might just get through this.


End file.
